Bulls Bet Navistar Will Hit the Gas

By Pete Najarian, co-founder of OptionMonster

NEW YORK -- Navistar (NAV) has faced heavy downward pressure, but now some traders apparently think that it's ready to shine.

OptionMonster's tracking systems detected unusual activity in the August 30 calls, with aggressive buying for 30 cents and 35 cents. Almost 13,000 of the options traded against previous open interest of 2,403 contracts, so these are new purchases.

Calls lock in the price investors must pay to buy shares in the company, which manufactures vehicles such as military trucks and buses, along with engines, parts, and chassis. Those options can generate significant leverage if the stock rallies but will expire worthless if it doesn't.

Navistar climbed 4.72% to $24.18 Tuesday but has been falling steadily since February, when it was over $47. It was recently downgraded by Fitch Ratings, and the cash flows have taken a hit. Billionaire investor Carl Icahn has been fighting the trend, adding to positions in recent sessions in anticipation of a turnaround.

More than 14,000 calls traded in the name Tuesday compared with fewer than 2,000 puts, a reflection of the bullish sentiment.

Najarian has no positions in NAV.

This commentary comes from an independent investor or market observer as part of TheStreet guest contributor program. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of TheStreet or its management.